Review of The Gypsy Morph by Terry Brooks

The Gypsy Morph is the dynamic, action-packed adventure that concludes the Genesis of Shannara trilogy. All the same protagonists return to finish the journey they began in, led by the eponymous gypsy morph, Hawk. The fate of the the races of both men and Elves rests upon his shoulders, for he is a creature of magic who can lead the survivors of a broken world to the promised land.

Overall I enjoyed this book for what it was. I haven't been a huge fan of The Genesis of Shannara series in general. Terry Brooks is one of my favourite authors; I love the Shannara series, although I didn't read his books about the Word and the Void. Many of the characters in this series were interesting and likable; I didn't care too much for the story or the plot, which I found predictable and tiresome at times.

I'm glad that, in the end, Luke and Simralin get together. They deserve each other after having to go through so much. I'm also glad that Hawk and Tess are having a child, that Panther found a companion in Catalya, and that uncertain characters like Angela and Kirisin have matured so dramatically over the course of the trilogy. Brooks made me care for these characters.

In many ways, this book was rushed. Luke's battle with Findo Gask is not-so-epic, which is a shame, because there was so much lead-in to it and emotional resonance on the line. Likewise, I'm not sure about the very ending--I understand what Brooks was trying to do, but I feel like he glossed over the transformation of the Earth we know into Shannara. I wish he had presented it differently.

A must-read if you are a Terry Brooks fan. Even though this isn't the best Shannara trilogy, this is how Brooks intended for the world of Shannara to come about, apparently, whether I like it or not. The themes present in his other series are still strong here. Demons continue to represent humanity's sinful side, our greed, lust, and hatred. The world, which has become corrupt and nearly unlivable, will gradually be reborn, and we have to adapt to it, not the other way around. And science, once our salvation, now takes a back seat to the old ways of magic, which promise renewal and the hope for a world without demons.

Well, we know how well that turns out....